Bread: Caraway Rye

Specials:Fried "Bolog-NOT" (Mortadella [because it's NOT Bologna,] Tomato, Provolone.)

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich - Bleu cheese, Tomato, Lettuce, Provolone.

Soup: Creamy Mushroom

It has come to our attention, through the generous sharing of a link on Facebook, that we have failed to mention Cape Cod Beer and the integral part they play in the Underground Bakery's bread lineup as well as our lunch offerings.

Every week, we deliver transport a delivery of Cape Cod Beer Spent Grain Bread to the Cape Cod Beer Brewery's retail outlet. After leaving a tray of still-warm, hearty bread to be sold to the brewery customers, we retrieve a large bucket of spent grain. The Beer brewing process begins with malt, a sort of blanket term that refers to a mixture of toasted grains. Most often, as we understand it, malt consists of barley and wheat, sometimes oats and other grains, seeds, etc. These are combined in a giant tank with hot water and steeped for some time. When the time is up, the folks at the brewery there drain the grain by gravity (no pressing!) leaving what is then known as Spent Grain. Here at the bakery, we combine this still-flavorful, toasty mash of grain to high-strength flour and our natural seed culture (a paste of flour, water and local airborne microorganisms that give our breads their unique sourdough flavor.)

After about two hours of kneading and rising, the finished product looks like this:

This is the bread that is used for our breakfast sandwiches, many of our lunch sandwiches, Toast and Jam, etc.

We're ever grateful to Cape Cod Beer for their cooperation in this endeavor and for being such great neighbors and friends. Their product is consistent, delicious, and is an integral part of our business and our personal lives. Stop by on a Tuesday or Saturday for a tour to learn how beer is made. In the process, you will start to understand why they have such a great product. Tell them we sent you!

Bread: Kalamata Olive

Specials: Buffalo Chicken Sandwich - shredded chicken, home-made buffalo sauce, bleu cheese, provolone, lettuce & tomato

Soup: Creamy mushroom

New today: Apple Cider Cookies (in celebration of fall)

Halloween-decorated Sugar cookies

The Kalamata Olive Bread has been particularly good lately. I've been makink bread for quite some time, years, in fact, but I've really learned quite a bit. I guess you could expect that of a task you perform seven days a week, all year. I guess you could say that I've gotten pretty good at showering, too. I think that the biggest lesson in breadmaking is that nothing worth waiting for happens quickly. It does require planning and a great deal of...er...babysitting time. In any event, there is a schedule for breads, now. It's on our menu board as follows:

Sunday: Raisin Spice

Monday: Semolina Sourdough

Tuesday: Caraway Rye

Wednesday: Olive

Thursday: Dirty, Salty Potato (with potato skins, chunks, dusted w/ Kosher Salt)

Friday: Brioche

Saturday: Whole Wheat Sourdough

Now, remember that the goal in sales is to sell all your product. That being said, don't be surprised if you arrive at 3:00pm and there is no bread left. This happens often, if not regularly. There are a great many days that I run out of one or other of the breads, sometimes all of them. If you are counting on a bread, depending even, PLEASE call me and I may be able to set yours aside. As demand increases, so does production volume.

Do I make baguettes? Sometimes. For those of you who ask for baguettes let me just say one thing. Here we go:

"Gosh, I'd love to. Everyone asks for them, but I make them and no one buys them."

In other words, I will make baguettes with 48 hours notice any time. The recipe I use calls for a heavy percentage of semolina, so they are moist, light yellow, and chewey inside with a thick, dry crust that crisps when rewarmed in the oven. They make a great open-faced sandwich, brushcetta, or french bread pizza. I am not joking, here. I would not make this up.

The Buffalo Chicken sandwich is seasoned with our own Buffalo Sauce and southwestern spice blend. It's very flavorful and a little spicy to warm you up on a cool fall day, but that all gets cooled right down with some crumbled gorgonzola, lettuce and tomato, all held together with some melted Provolone Dolce.

Apple Cider cookies are a returning favorite. They were sold here long before Laurie and I came along as owners, but we're just finding time to bring back some old favorites. They're glazed with gooey glaze, too, for all you "Sugar Glaze Addicts" out there.

Also, a reminder that we are changing our facebook page from the group page to which many of you have become fans to a business page you can "like." The new, improved page can be found HERE.

Hope everyone has a great wednesday.